Listen to the words of Rajneesh:
"Relationship is a mirror, and the purer the love is, the higher the love is, the better the mirror, the cleaner the mirror. But the higher love needs you to be open. The higher love needs you to be vulnerable. You have to drop your armor; that is painful."
Why is it painful? Because we're afraid of anything new. We're afraid of being overwhelmed. In fact, even when we're overwhelmed we try to pretend as if we are still in control!
Love isn’t in opposition to selfishness.
In the "Dhammapada", Gautama Buddha says:
"Love yourself, and watch---today, tomorrow, always."
One of the most significant messages of The Star is that there’s a vast difference between love and lust. In the "Book of the Law", Nuith says:
"Nor let the fools mistake love; fore there are love and love. There is the dove, and there is the serpent. Choose ye well! He, my prophet, hath chosen, knowing the law of the fortress, and the great mystery of the House of God." *(Ch.1, V.57)
The dove is none other than our beloved Venus who, in the Major Arcana, appears as Aphrodite Urania (The Empress and The Star), and Aphrodite Pandemus (Lust). In The Star, as we've seen, Venus is represented by the seven-pointed star seen in three different places within the card. These stars may also be a reference to the Egyptian Mother goddess, Isis, known in the Greco-Roman culture as the Stella Maris---"The Star of the Sea." The serpent is none other than Babalon of the Lust card, which, if you recall, is attributed to the Hebrew letter Teth, which translates as "serpent."
One look at The Star and one immediately sees the coolness, calm, and the dance of rapture. She's Beauty without the Beast, for the Beast has been assimilated and transformed within the alchemical womb of love. This alchemical womb is, in the Lust card, represented by the Holy Graal, whereas the "law of the fortress" and the "great mystery of the House of God", is a mystery concealed within two trumps generally: The Tower and The Universe.
As we've seen, the Eye of Shiva seen in The Devil, The Tower, and The Universe, symbolizes “divine apathy”, and heralds the destruction of the illusion of separateness. We’ve also learned that this great dissolution is that which fills the Graal held aloft by Babalon, that is filled with the Blood of the Saints. Indeed, we can see the dove, the serpent, and the House of God, all within The Tower card. We also see the dove (virginal goddess) and the serpent dancing in The Universe card.
But what does this mean?
For the Children of Our Lady of the Stars, love begins in solitude and ends with relating. Not in relationship, mind you, but relating. In the above quote from the "Book of the Law", notice that Nuith admonishes the "fools" not to mistake love for Love. Also recall Crowley's poetic advise to The Fool.
He says:
"Wander alone, and sing; for in the king's palace His daughter awaits thee."
The key word in that passage is "alone," for if you can't be alone and blissful, then you can't hope to be so in the presence of the Beloved. Eventually dependence will arise, posing as love. The Star goddess will have none of it!
Nuith says:
"O lover, if thou wilt, depart! There is no bond that can unite the divided but love: all else is a curse. Accursed! Accursed be it to the aeons! Hell."
-"Book of the Law", ch.1, v.41
On the path of Tzaddi, The Star tends to become childish because, here, the mind tends to project desire somewhere into the future or the past, forgetting that truth exists in the Now. To take a quantum leap into the unknown you mustn’t be weighed down by too many conclusions. This being accomplished, and the secret of The Priestess now known:
"The Manifestation of Nuith is at an end."
-Book of the Law, Ch.1, V.66
The Moon:
The Ruler of the Flux and Reflux
Child of the Sons of the Mighty
Trump #18
Zodiacal Trump of Pisces
Jupiter Rules—Venus Exalted
Letter: Koph (back of head) (numerical value: 100)
Path: #29 (Netzach to Malkuth)
Helpful Quotes
"Let the Illusion of the World pass over thee, unheeded, as thou goest from the Midnight to the Morning."
-Aleister Crowley
"The Dreamer who dreams our dreams knows far more about us than we know of it. It is only from a remarkable position of alienation that the source of life, the Fountain of Life, is experienced as the It. The mind of which we are unaware is aware of us. It is we who are out of our minds. We need not be unaware of the inner world."
-R.D. Laing
"In dying to the past from moment to moment the mind is made fresh, therefore it can never deteriorate or set in motion the wave of darkness."
-Krishnaji
Contemplation
This is the trump of all things in between. It represents the messy process of human development, particularly the twilight areas between growth-stages. This is the card of “Kafkaesque” nightmare, delusion, and potential madness, but also of Lucid and Pellucid Dreaming, Out of Body Experience, and the Continuity of Consciousness itself. When it appears in a reading we must ask ourselves, "What am I afraid of?" Or, "Is there something that I must let go of?" Or, "Is my self-image in danger of being destroyed?" And perhaps, "What are my dreams trying to tell me?”
To understand this card fully, we must recall our previous discussions on the spiritual ordeal known as the Dark Night of the Soul. In the Western esoteric tradition, this ordeal is referred to as the "crossing of the Abyss". This “Abyss” can either be successfully crossed or, in a manner of speaking, made habitable. Fail, and live forever haunted by the knowledge that even your most cherished experiences are unreal, illusory, and empty. This applies, not only to your biography, but to any experience you might have in the future. I say "future," but the reality is that for the person stuck in this Abyss time no longer exists in the ordinary sense of the word. What happens if you succeed is beyond the power of words to express and is verbally approachable only when described in terms of what doesn't happen.
Kabbalistically speaking, this Abyss is located on the path of Gimel (The Priestess). Its general flavor is the unavoidable realization that any movement away from the immanent contents of the psyche, without first metabolizing and digesting them, is a movement born of illusion. The mind of the aspirant has become inescapably aware that, although fragmented thought has its proper place, it can never be applied to the total movement of life. This is so because the very movement of the psyche toward unity is by its very nature a partial one. In the card, this fragmentariness of thought is symbolized by the parallel figures of Anubis (regression and repression), guarding the threshold to the Abyss. As an interesting side note, the fact that The Empress cuts through the path of Gimel is significant, as we shall see below, for The Empress is the insights of The Priestess come to fruition.
We’ve been preparing throughout this book for a candid discussion of this Dark Night of the Soul. In Nietzsche’s terms, The Moon represents the final threshold separating the stage of the Caterpillar/Lion from that of the Butterfly/Child. The aspirant has begun to see that thought is nothing more than a movement of consciousness in dreams. She's beginning to realize that all thought, all dreams---beautiful or ugly, creative or mundane---are little more than diaphanous clouds, changing their shape according to the disposition of the dreamer. These mental clouds are meaningful only in relation to the sky of consciousness itself, so to the sky she turns. But there's trouble ahead, for the dreamer can't turn this sky into an object of observation.
The irony of this situation can be overwhelming…
Imagine the mind of an individual for whom psychological time has lost all significance.
With the disappearance of psychological time goes all sense of reference.
How many times have you chased after something you thought would bring happiness? If you're like me you've probably lost count! Well, imagine what would happen should the horizon disappear completely. Y
ou'd go mad! With the disappearance of psychological time you also disappear because who you are is defined by where you've been and where you think you're going. The ego revolts against this. The self-system struggles to remain in control. It writhes beneath the burning rays of the rising sun of suchness, while at the same time drowning in the putrescence of all that it's tried to deny about itself.
This is nothing short of hell. But if the aspirant is capable of seeing the total movement of the psyche then she’ll find that an altogether different movement has begun.
So how’s the spiritual seeker supposed to approach this dilemma? First and foremost, this questioning mind has to drop. This questioning mind is wonderful in the world of mathematics, but in the Abyss it's nothing short of the Devil himself. In the Abyss, all questions must be resolved into an equation that must forever result in zero. There's no such thing as relative truth, not here. Relative truth is seen for what it is: a spiraling dance of principals experienced as true only in relation to their opposite, and this is a game that can go on forever if one is so inclined.
Unfortunately, the terms "seeker" and "aspirant" give a wrong impression, for there can be no seeking here. This requires a very sensitive mind. Our "man with no name" must be established in a center different from that of reason. I don't mean that he must be an observer separate from reason, but the observer carries weight and we don't want any heavy luggage weighing us down here. Rather, he must be established in feeling. By feeling I don't mean sentimentality or wishy-washy emotion, but rather, feeling in the sense of tangibility. To be established in feeling is to confront something or someone without the word getting in the way.
In this card, The Moon, we see The Empress giving birth to The Sun---the blue mountains in the background are actually her thighs---and The Empress represents feeling in our Tarot deck. The Moon occupies the path of Qoph between the sephiroth Netzach (sphere of emotions) and Malkuth (sphere of tangibility). What would happen if you were capable of looking at everything, including the movement of thought, from the realm of feeling? What would happen to thought were you to look, not at any particular thought, but at the movement of thinking itself? Looking, not as an observer, but as a feeler?
Imagine that you're listening to a nostalgic piece of music. Instead of getting lost in the memory of your high school sweetheart, you simply reach out with your consciousness to meet the emotion head-on. In that feeling there's no duality, is there? You are that emotion! It's very simple, which is why the mind rebels against it. The mind delights in complexity and it wants instant results. It's placed much meaning on abstract things, as if hunger can be abated by looking a dinner menu! So when consciousness makes the transition from thought to feeling the ego often becomes afraid. Ego often associates feeling with emotion and romance, which is foolish. There's nothing wrong with either of those things but we're not concerned with them here.
So do you have the capacity to be in the presence of the enemy without that word getting between you and the other? Is there a space in consciousness which remains untouched by all of it? The finding of that space is the way out of the Abyss. To be sure, this isn’t the same as being absorbed in some transcendental Void. That has its place, but that's not what I'm pointing to here. This isn't a Causal realization. It's a Nondual one. This implies that you have the willingness to abandon your most cherished notions about who you are and who you think the other is. Such a mind is capable of infinite movement because it is Spirit; it "bloweth where it listeth."
Do you have that capacity?
Kabbalistically speaking, when we move down to the realm of feeling (not just emotional Netzach) where are we? We're standing on Yesod, the very foundation and springboard of consciousness. Yesod is the sphere of the moon: the biological urges, the subconscious, and the root of your Ego. These things actually belong to the realm of Matter; they're composed of the same stuff as blood, muscle, and bone, only subtler and experienced in a subjective way. Our task, as dwellers in this Abyss, is to awaken in the midst of it as Spirit in Matter; and the way is through feeling. The most unified expression of this feeling center is located on Tiphareth: sphere of the heart. You'll notice that this Sephira is in the middle of all things egotistic: thought (Hod), emotion (Netzach), time as memory and aspiration (Chesed), and passion (Geburah). Tiphareth is in the midst of all of this. Tiphareth can, at the same time, be the energy that perpetuates this Ego or that which transforms it from lead into gold. That which remains outside of this process, at all times, is the crown Sephira, Kether. This is your highest center and forms a direct route to Tiphareth, your heart.
The Moon confronts us with our worst fears. It can be a pretty bad trip, for sure! It confronts us with our hidden agendas. In the midst of this confusion lies the possibility of integration. The only thing needed is the willingness to look at those fears and motives with a single eye and an open heart. In the very intensity of that look is the energy needed to transcend your limitations. This intensity need not be obsessive. Let it instead be easy and natural, but swift, so that conditioned thought can find no entry point. Then, the happening!
But it’s so easy to become afraid…
Everyone knows what it's like to be afraid. We all have our particular fears: fear of poverty, the dark, war, death---king of fears---fear of love, fear of abandonment, of enclosed spaces. We all know what it's like to tremble. So what do we do with fear? How are we to get rid of it? Can it be destroyed? What would happen if fear were destroyed totally? Obviously, we couldn't survive without it! Fear is a big reason humanity has survived on this earth. Without fear you'd not jump out of the way of a moving train or avoid a dangerous precipice. What I am asking is whether or not the psyche has the capacity to remain out of the grip of fear, even when fear is fully present? Can you remain the master of fear or is fear the master of you?
When fear is there we usually try to control it. We either try to escape or, if escape is impossible, we either fight or take flight. We're thrown out of ourselves and clarity is lost. Those malicious jackals devour us at the shore, and we scurry away with what remains of us into ivory towers. One can't be a coward and a consciousness at the same time, it's not possible. You can disguise your fear, certainly. You can cover it up with a façade of bravery, but deep down you remain just as fearful. You can convince yourself, and possibly others, that you're a brave man or woman, but this isn't going to rid your psyche of fear. Fear will go on sabotaging your entire system from below, as we see it doing in The Tower card (Dis Pater).
The fear of the common person is that she’ll not be able to perform properly, while the fear of the Initiate is of not being able to absorb entirely. Sometimes it happens that something comes out of us that we don't yet have the capacity to absorb. This happens a lot in the beginning phase of the spiritual quest, and at times reaches catastrophic proportions. It's easy enough to sit on a meditation cushion, calmly observing the random thoughts and sensations; it's very difficult, however, when a loved one suddenly dies, not to break down and escape into self-pity, alcohol, drugs, or whatever else one escapes into. But what we're being asked to do in The Moon card is to confront the deepest misery we’re capable of experiencing, the entire spectrum from sadness to bliss, with an abiding sense of compassionate receptivity, and to faithfully and fully experience our reactions to these with courage and equanimity.
So can you live with fear as though it were a messenger from God? If so, then you'll come to know its various nuances and triggers. To understand fear and transcend it without effort is the beginning of a life of passion. Fear distorts everything! You can't see beauty when fear is making everything ugly. You can't appreciate anything when your eyes are blinded by fear. You may have the opportunity of a lifetime there in front of you, but you won't not be capable of seeing it if you're afraid even to look. So get to know fear, and don't worry about getting rid of it.
Fear will drop only in the facing of it…
Lastly, The Moon conceals an important mystery pertai
ning to sleep. For years I kept a record of my dreams. Keeping a record of your nightly jaunts has immense value. I eventually abandoned this practice, however, once remembering my dreams had become natural and effortless. Many people don't remember their dreams. I've even met people who claim that they don’t dream at all, which is nonsense. We all dream. It may be that such people have simply paid so little attention to their dreams that their dreams have stopped paying attention to them! I don’t know what's worse: the fact that people don't give ample space for their dreams or that modern life doesn’t allow them to do so.
In any event, what happens in your dreams can be very revealing and can speak volumes about what goes on beneath the surface of day to day awareness. Have you ever had a recurring dream or dreamt something that eventually came to pass? I'm not suggesting that you get lost in the pursuit of supernormal abilities. I'm simply saying that it’s a good idea to maintain a strong link to your subconscious. It's a sad fact that modern man rarely has a conscious taste of dreamless sleep (delta). To have access to such a state is like discovering the Holy Grail. Have you ever tried dreaming consciously? To have the capacity to consciously experience both the waking and dreaming mind is a profound achievement.
In the Yoga traditions, the ability to remain alert while sleeping is called Yoga Nidra, which is best attained by reclining on a 45° angle rather than lying down. However, mastery is attained when the practitioner can attain Yoga Nidra at any time, in any posture. Now, if I'm sincere in my desire to go deeper (and with a little talent), I'll discover that I can indeed enter dreaming and dreamless sleep consciously. This state usually lasts for but a second, but with practice it can deepen. In this card, The Moon, we're looking at the phenomena known as The Continuity of Consciousness. This is the attainment of full awareness throughout the three broad states of Waking, Dreaming, and Dreamless Sleep. Readers interested in a thorough discussion of this topic are urged to read my book, “Behind The Veil: The Complete Guide to Conscious Sleep”. Also, feel free to consult my website: http://behindtheveil.simdif.com
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